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Rick Woodbury claims he has created a car that might solve the world’s traffic congestion problems. Rick from Spokane, Washington USA, is the president, founder and sole employee of ‘Commuter Cars.’ The carmaker’s flagship model is the 2005 super slim two-seater Tango T600, a high-performance electric car that preceded Tesla. Rick told Ridiculous Rides: “I started this company 21 years ago – it was based on an idea that I came up with in 1982.” He was inspired by the shocking traffic congestion he had to face on a daily basis.

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Motor
Transcript
00:00The coolest feature to me is that it can get through traffic faster than any car in history.
00:05We get so many reactions from people watching it, it's amazing.
00:10Hi, I'm Rick Woodbury, I'm president and founder of New York.
00:15I started this company in 21 years.
00:20Ten years ago.
00:24It was based.
00:25On an idea that I came up with in 1982.
00:30I used to drive a Porsche from Beverly Hills to...
00:35...Hamos Beach every day and the traffic was horrendous.
00:38And I noticed that everybody around me...
00:40...was a single occupant in a car taking up a whole lane.
00:43So I thought everybody wants to get...
00:45...from point A to point B efficiently.
00:47And in cities like Los Angeles, there's really no center.
00:50There's no hub, everybody goes everywhere.
00:54I don't think there's any...
00:55...other answer except doubling lane capacity.
00:57This is the Tango Car, a super slim electric...
01:00...the vehicle that has created Rick's answer to congested city driving.
01:03Well, the coolest feature to me is that it can get...
01:05...through traffic faster than any car in history.
01:07Same width as a Harley Davidson motorcycle.
01:10You just come up to stoplight, but instead of waiting in line...
01:14...behind all the other...
01:15...the other cars, you just go right up the line in between...
01:17...and you filter.
01:19On the inside, well...
01:20...it's very comfortable.
01:21You're right in the center of the car.
01:23You know, you're on the driver's side.
01:24I'm...
01:25...on both sides.
01:26So...
01:27...it's very convenient.
01:28You look out either window, you've got better visibility.
01:30You can see exactly what's happening around you.
01:32You've got better visibility than any car I've ever had.
01:35You can fit two people.
01:36This has a Momo steering wheel.
01:38This is actually used by race...
01:40...the Motec dash.
01:41Four-point shoulder harness with the pilots of commercial aircraft.
01:45You have to use these exact harnesses.
01:46With a comfortable and easy to drive interior, what is it like to drive a car?
01:50Like this.
01:51It handles really well.
01:53We know it has a super low sound of...
01:55...the gravity being that it has a dry sump engine that's opposed, so it's got a low...
02:00...the more sound of gravity than just about any other car.
02:02I've had it up to 120 miles an hour, so...
02:05...well, the length is 102 inches, same width of a semi-truck, so it can park perpendicular...
02:10...to the curb.
02:11Not小さい, so it's impossible.
02:12With the
02:34This has the same rollover threshold as a 911 Porsche.
02:37It turns instantly, unlike a motor.
02:39It has to counter-steer before it can turn to avoid a collision.
02:43The Tango debuted in
02:442005, and after actor George Clooney bought one, the car became a runaway success.
02:49Due to the nature of the build, the company can only produce a
02:54certain amount.
02:55It took 10 employees about three years to get nine and a half cars built.
02:59This is number 10.
03:00It's been quite a few more years.
03:04Also, it's a lot more complicated.
03:05We've spent a couple of years just developing the new lithium pack.
03:09But there have been constant upgrades over the years just to get the lithium back.
03:14The batteries and the management systems to handle them.
03:18This is the car that we
03:19actually sold to a customer in Perth, Australia.
03:22And it's...
03:24In the process of assembly, but mostly it's waiting on completion of the battery.
03:29The battery box is here.
03:31This whole, the whole bottom of the car is battery.
03:33There's 90...
03:3420 kilowatt hours of battery in there, which will give us about 300 miles of range.
03:38With all the...
03:39Work needed to create these slender vehicles.
03:41The production costs can't be that cheap.
03:43These cars...
03:44That have cost an average of $420,000 each to build.
03:47And unsurprisingly out...
03:49On the road, this car gets a lot of attention.
03:54How?
03:55I'm sorry.
03:56I'm sorry.
03:57Sure, of course.
03:58Yeah.
03:59This is so cool that you got this done. I'm so impressed with you. I mean, that's an amazing thing.
04:04So many reactions from people watching it. It's amazing. Sometimes we have two people, both the driver and the driver.
04:09And a passenger both photographing the car as we're going down the highway.
04:14Thank you for your attention.
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